The Leadership Trip
by Xander03
Summary: Andrew and Dawn check out a leadership retreat to judge it for later Slayer groups. R for language.


Title: The Leadership Trip   
  
Author: Xander03  
  
Rating: R (just for language)  
  
Summary: Dawn and Andrew have an adventure while scouting out a training location for new Slayers.  
  
A/N: For verucawerewolf.  
  
"Do we have to?" Andrew was sitting on the stairs to his cabin, playing with the cuff on his jeans. "I hate heights."  
  
Dawn kicked a small rock down the path to the other cabins before refocusing her attention on the outdoor inept nerd before her.  
  
"You hate water too," Dawn said, "but you still did the canoeing this morning."   
  
"And you have no idea how lucky we are we didn't die! I've read articles about people at these things, thinking they're safe, and then wham! They get hit with a stray canoe. And their life jacket, worn and disintegrating after years of misuse, fails and they die!"  
  
"How are we supposed to rate this camps ability to handle Slayers if we don't do the activities?" Giles had sent Dawn and Andrew to a leadership retreat facility in the Ozarks of Missouri. If they liked the camp, they would discuss the possibility of a Watcher's Council Retreat with the camp staff, making sure the instructors were aware of the unique nature of the girls being sent.  
  
"Why don't you go throw your life in danger on the stupid climbing wall, and I'll do some covert investigating of the camp," Andrew suggested. It was certainly possible to sneak off, as the camp instructors didn't pay much attention to who showed up and who didn't for each activity. Andrew had already put this on the mental list of points against the camp for the Slayer evaluation.  
  
"You mean you'll take a nap," Dawn replied.  
  
"No, I've been thinking about sneaking into the main office," Andrew said. "I'm not completely lazy."  
  
"What are you going to find in the main office?" Dawn asked, smirking.  
  
"I don't know, but I bet something interesting."  
  
Dawn rolled her eyes. "Fine. I'll go to the wall activity by myself, but don't be upset when you end up by yourself here after dark. They said we'd be a few hours." She turned and walked down the path away from Andrew.  
  
Andrew shouted after her, "I'm not afraid of the dark!" Standing, he muttered, "Not much anyway," before going into his cabin.  
  
***  
  
It was dark outside when Andrew woke up from his mostly unplanned nap. He lay still for a moment, listening to see if the other campers had returned. They hadn't, and Andrew was left trying to decide if it would be a wise idea to sneak anywhere at night.  
  
Andrew threw his feet over the side of the bed, and searched with his toes for his shoes. As quietly as he could, he pulled them on and tied them. He thought of all the horrible things, demon and otherwise, that might be lurking about in the woods, waiting for darkness to fall on the isolated camp and its occupants. He hoped being as quiet as possible would keep their attention away from him and more appealing targets, like the other campers. Realizing there were no other campers to find more appetizing, he rushed finishing up his shoes and retreated to the corner of the bed.  
  
In the silence, he listened to the sounds of the woods around him, and tried to imagine why Dawn would call them peaceful. Several moments went by before he'd calmed himself down enough to leave his bed. Carefully, he looked out the window at the long path down the hill. He could see flashlights approaching from the distance, and breathed a sigh of relief. The other campers were returning.  
  
Strengthened by the presences of noisier and fatter possible meal tickets, he left the cabin to walk down the path. They'd be making dinner soon, and he was hungry. As he walked down the hill toward the other campers, Andrew saw what might have been a moving light to the right of the path. He stopped to look, but it was too far away for him to determine the source. It moved away, though, so he told himself it must be a staffer going someplace else instead of a demon coming to feast on the secluded campground.  
  
"Andrew!" One of the staffers, James, hollered up at him. "Time to eat!"  
  
For the moment unconcerned with the light in the woods, Andrew quickly scampered down the trail, managing to make it to the group without tripping over any rocks or roots. "Hey," he greeted, as he scanned the group for Dawn.   
  
James was busily handing out cooking gear to various campers. Pausing to look at Andrew, he asked, "Where's Dawn?"  
  
Andrew had just finished looking over the group of fifteen or so campers and had realized she wasn't there. "What? I thought she was with you!"  
  
"Nah, man, she left early. I think she must have gotten sick or bored or something, because she just took off in the middle of the activity. She should have been here by now." Several members of the group nodded at the explanation, a few adding, "I didn't even see her leave."  
  
"Oh my God! We have to go find her!" Andrew started to run down the trail, stopping to look back at the confused faces.   
  
"C'mon, man," James said. "Let's eat dinner first. I'm sure she'll show up."  
  
Initially, Andrew couldn't believe their lack of concern over the missing group member. But he reminded himself that these weren't people who automatically thought of demons lurking in the woods and supercharged woodland animals making swift snacks of humans. Andrew took a deep breath, trying to reassure himself they were right. She'd find her way back to camp. "Sure," he told James. "Okay, let's eat."  
  
Nervously, Andrew accompanied the others to the campfire, where two industrious campers began cooking the group's meal. Calmer now, Andrew glanced around at the others, slightly jealous they could be in the middle of nowhere and not constantly fear for their lives. The staff here had a calming effect on everyone because they were so laid back. The past night, the three staff members told ghost stories and of scary things they'd had happen there, remaining unfazed as the campers sat around the campfire frightened.  
  
Andrew broke himself away from the memory of the last night and his fear when he realized that two of the three staffers were missing. "James," he said, "Where are Tom and Mike?"  
  
"Oh, they took tonight off, man," James said. "Some religious thing they got going on in town."  
  
"Right," Andrew said uneasily. Tom and Mike hadn't seemed the religious types.  
  
Dinner came and went, and as the campers settled around the fire for another evening of stories, Andrew grew more worried about Dawn. The whole group, keyed up for another night of ghost stories, jumped when James' cell phone rang. He laughed and excused himself, returning a few moments later. "Hey, Andrew. Looks like your girl wanted to go into town with Tom and Mike. She'll be back tomorrow."  
  
"Dawn wouldn't go into town," Andrew said, quickly standing. "Not without telling me."  
  
"Dude, calm down," James responded. "Don't go all jealous boyfriend type on us. She'll be back tomorrow. Probably wanted to go do chick shit." James sat back down at the fire, unconcerned with Andrew's reaction.  
  
Andrew looked around. The other campers seemed to accept the explanation at face value, and returned to mindlessly gazing at the fire. Annoyed, Andrew stormed off, barely registering James' "Yeah, dude. If you're upset just go chill in your cabin."  
  
Andrew scaled the hill to his cabin, tripping over an invisible rock on the way. Once inside, he pulled out his cellular phone and hit the speed dial button for Giles. The phone's display informed him he was out of range, so he hit another button, connecting his phone with a satellite. The Council had spent quite a bit of money ensuring that Watchers in the field could make contact with home base.  
  
"Giles," Andrew said when he was connected, "Dawn is missing."  
  
***  
  
"I am not afraid of the dark. I am a Watcher and Watchers are not afraid of the dark." Andrew repeated the saying over an over again, echoing Giles' earlier instructions. Giles had instructed him to locate Dawn and report back, so Giles could direct Buffy and Faith to his location. They were currently in New York, but were taking the first flight to Missouri. Andrew had snuck away from camp, retracing the path the other campers had taken to and from the climbing wall. There was no trace of Dawn along the trail.  
  
Andrew returned to the camp, spending a moment ensuring all the other campers were still around the fire before proceeding to the main office. He needed to find out where Tom and Mike were headed, since they were his number one suspects in the disappearance. For once he was thankful of the camp's isolation, as he found the office unlocked and unguarded.  
  
The office was just a cabin, filled with desks and equipment instead of beds. Andrew pulled a pen from his back pocket, twisted the cap a certain way, and clicked the top. Instead of a ball point appearing, a miniature flashlight activated, providing some illumination to the dark room. A child from an earlier camp had been kind enough to color in signs with each staffer's name, and each staffer had affixed them to the front of their desks.  
  
Andrew went to Tom's desk first, finding nothing but a bunch of junk food and various fire paraphernalia, such as matches and lighters. "Pyro," Andrew whispered to himself before moving to Mike's desk.  
  
Mike's desk contained much of the same, but there was a locked drawer for Andrew to investigate. He retrieved his Swiss Army knife, made specially for the Watcher's Council by Wenger, and opened the lock pick attachment. Andrew paused as he heard a noise outside. The campers were breaking up and going to their individual cabins for the evening. James would probably be heading for the office.  
  
Trying to remain calm, Andrew forced his unsteady hand to make a try at the lock. The noises outside were getting closer, and Andrew could hear James' voice telling the others goodnight. The sounds of boots filled his head, and he struggled to focus on the lock. The first try was unsuccessful, but he managed to open the drawer on the second time.  
  
James was approaching the cabin, and Andrew hurriedly aimed his flashlight into the drawer. There was a plain looking book inside, along with a few maps. The book would look normal to the untrained eye, but Andrew immediately recognized the symbol on the front as demonic. He grabbed the book and maps, shoved them in his small pack, shut the drawer, and dove under Mike's desk just before James came through the front door.  
  
After not breathing for the first several seconds under the desk, Andrew tried to not hyperventilate. He had limited success, but fortunately James seemed more interested with finding something on his desk than anything else. By the time Andrew had calmed himself down enough to hear over his own breathing, James was on the phone.  
  
"Yeah, Tom, it's James. Nah, the guy is just pissed his girl went off to town. By the time he realizes she didn't, we'll be done and it won't matter. You guys at the cave already? Yeah, I can hear her screaming. Ought to gag her. It'll only be for an hour or two until the sacrifice. I'll see you soon. Later."  
  
Andrew listened as James set the phone on the receiver and left the cabin. Andrew, suddenly more afraid of the dark than ever, quickly crawled out from under the desk. He took a quick look out the front window and watched as James set off down the trail. His whole body wanted to stay inside the cabin until Faith and Buffy arrived, but he forced himself out the door and down the path. This sacrifice sounded like it was going to take soon, and he bet Dawn wasn't going to be a mere observer.  
  
Staying well behind Jason on the trail, Andrew tried to walk quietly, with limited success. Jason didn't seem to notice, and soon Andrew became confident enough to pull his cell phone out once again. He pressed a combination of buttons that turned the phone into a homing beacon. Giles could use the computers at the Council's office in England to track Andrew and would be able to send Buffy and Faith as soon as they arrived in the area.  
  
At the bottom of the hill, the trail took a sharp turn to the right. Andrew slowly rounded the corner, hoping James would still be ahead, not looking back for followers. He stopped when he couldn't see James on the path. Remembering earlier the light in the woods, he scanned the areas around the path, finally noticing the shadow of a figure walking away from him. James was using his flashlight to navigate through the woods, giving an obvious way to follow for the moment.  
  
Andrew was hesitant to enter the denser area of the trees. He was no woodsman, and wasn't sure he could follow or keep up with James without hurting himself or being heard. But he remembered Dawn, and decided to try. Adrenaline pushed him forward, and within several yards of his starting point, Andrew was beginning to feel more comfortable following James without any light of his own. He continued tripping at random intervals, but managed to either catch himself or land quietly.  
  
He followed James for what seemed like forever, finally noticing the staffer speeding up and starting to yell at something in front of him. The light and James stopped moving, and Andrew halted to consider his next move. Within seconds, the light was gone and Andrew was alone in the darkness.  
  
Again, concern for Dawn willed him forward; even though he was convinced he was going to lose control of his bladder. He carefully maneuvered around trees, branches, plants, and rocks, trying to find where James had disappeared. There was a small creek ahead, and Andrew followed it to the mouth of a cave. He could hear James speaking from inside the cave, and occasionally bits of light would splash the near wall.  
  
"I hate caves," Andrew whimpered before adjusting his earlier saying. "I am a Watcher. Watchers are not afraid of caves." He went in; trying to remember the facts he'd learned about Missouri cave systems on the flight.  
  
The cave was large enough he could walk, and he slowly progressed inside, trying to move his brain away from the possibility of bats. After two corners, he found his quarry. Taking cover behind a nearby stalagmite, Andrew studied the situation, trying to remain composed. The three men were arguing over the process of painting some symbol on the ground. Dawn was tied up and gagged, sitting on the floor just a few feet from Andrew, propping herself up on another stalagmite.  
  
"We've got to get this damn thing finished," Tom said.  
  
"There's still twenty minutes until our window," Mike said. "Calm down."  
  
"Calm down? Fuck you! We need this to happen right or Otaktay won't show up; or worse, show up angry!" Tom grabbed Mike by his shirt and threw him to the ground. "You need to figure out what the hell we're supposed to be doing!"  
  
"Hey, it isn't my fault dickwad James forgot the book back at the cabin, I'm doing this all by memory."  
  
"My fault? You didn't tell me, dude," James argued, joining the fight.  
  
Andrew realized two things at once. First, he had the book these three needed to summon something named Otaktay. Second, this would be the perfect time for a heroic rescue. Gathering his courage, he scrambled to the next stalagmite. Making sure to keep the rock between him and the men, he tapped Dawn on the shoulder.   
  
She jerked and turned to look, eyes going wide upon recognition. Andrew used his pocket knife to cut the ropes binding her wrists. She then used her free hands to pull the gag free while he cut the ropes on her legs.  
  
Andrew looked at the men again, still rolling around on the cave floor fighting and arguing. A fight would be a sure loss for Andrew and Dawn, so he gestured to her to make a quick and silent escape. A few moments later, the two were outside the cave and running, Dawn yanking Andrew over obstacles before he could trip on them. They'd not been running for long before Andrew risked a glance back and saw three franticly moving lights appear at the entrance to the cave.  
  
"They noticed!" he said to Dawn, a little too loudly.  
  
"Shut up!" She yelled, grabbing his arm and pulling him over another rock. "We need to hide!"  
  
Andrew started to answer, but the two tripped over a tree root at the same time and plummeted to the ground below. Only the ground was actually a slow moving stream they hadn't noticed. Screaming at the sudden rush of surprise and cold, Andrew found his mouth filled with water. Finally getting his feet under him, he stood up to find Dawn on the other bank, holding out her hand.  
  
"C'mon," she whispered. "We have to go, now!"  
  
The two ran up the hill on the side of the creek and entered more woods. Andrew took another look back. "I can't see their lights anymore."  
  
"We should slow down and be more careful so they can't track us," Dawn said, also looking back.  
  
"Track us?"  
  
"Yeah, that's what guys in the woods do when they're chasing something. Or someone." She started moving forward again, more carefully this time.  
  
"Oh." Andrew ducked under a branch she held up for him.  
  
"But maybe these guys aren't that bright. I got that impression anyway."  
  
"They wanted to sacrifice you to something named-"  
  
"Otaktay. Yeah, I know. They need a virgin sacrifice to bring for the demon Otaktay. They think he will make them sex gods." Dawn paused at the edge of another creek. "How many creeks does this state have, anyway?"  
  
"Several? I read that somewhere," Andrew answered. "If you know all this, then I guess we don't need this heavy book I've got."  
  
"Probably not, but we can't drop it. It'd be a clue for them."  
  
"Right. Oh! I know, I'll call Giles and ask for help." Andrew fumbled in his pocket for his cell phone. After hitting several buttons, he yelped. "I think the water broke my phone!"  
  
"We're on our own, I guess. I think we should go down the middle of the creek."  
  
"But my phone! What? The creek? What!"  
  
Dawn veered into the water. "See, it's safe. This will hide our tracks. It isn't deep, and not too cold," she said. "And does Giles even know we're in trouble?"  
  
"Yeah, I called him. He wanted Willow to teleport over here and help us, but she's fighting some apocalypse with Kennedy in Tibet." Andrew stepped into the water, stifling a squeal.  
  
"It's always something."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
The two wandered down the creek for a little while in silence. Occasionally, they could hear yells from behind them, and this quickened their pace.  
  
"They made it sound like they could only do this at one specific time," Andrew said. "Maybe they'll just give up."  
  
"Can't leave witnesses," Dawn replied. "And they can do it anytime at night, it is just that particular demon likes a specific time."  
  
"Oh." Andrew followed Dawn in the creek, wondering how long it would take to get frostbite. Suddenly, he said, "We could have sex."  
  
"WHAT?" She wheeled on him in the middle of the creek and even though she kept the volume low, the shriek made Andrew flinch.  
  
"They still might kill us, being witnesses and all, but then they couldn't raise their demon."  
  
Dawn just stood there for several seconds before responding. "That's either the lamest reason to get a girl to sleep with you or the most logical one ever."  
  
"So we are?"  
  
"NO!" Dawn returned to walking down the creek. "They aren't going to catch us, it won't be a problem."  
  
"Think again, little sacrifice." Tom hopped from the bank into the creek ahead. Mike and James took up stances on either side and behind Andrew and Dawn.  
  
"That was lame, dude," James said.  
  
"Yeah," Mike agreed.  
  
"I agree," Dawn said, crossing her arms.  
  
Andrew analyzed the situation, like Giles had taught him. Even using optimistic numbers, statistics were not on Dawn and Andrew's side. Time to use a lesson from Buffy: when all else fails, talk. "Gentlemen. So nice to see you again."  
  
"Shut up, twerp," Tom said.  
  
"Yeah," Mike added.  
  
"I would like to inform you that we are well respected members of the Watcher's Council, and you have just involved yourself in a world that we control." Andrew tried to sound authoritarian, but his voice still squeaked at the end.  
  
James smirked, "Whatever dude." The three started to close on Dawn and Andrew.  
  
"He's right, you know," Dawn said, causing them to pause for a second. "We have very powerful friends. Very powerful. They'll kill you and your demon if you touch us."  
  
"When we're sex gods, nobody will hurt us," Tom said.  
  
"You? Sex gods, please." A familiar voice from the woods. "I've seen more buff sex gods in the middle of the comp sci department." Willow appeared from the tree line, Kennedy in tow. Looking at Andrew and Dawn, she added, "The apocalypse turned out to be some old guy with a fireworks stand."  
  
"What the hell?" Tom asked. He rushed toward Willow, but Kennedy stepped between them. He started to throw a punch, but she leveled him with a well-placed kick.  
  
Kennedy started to say something, but ended up puking all over Tom.  
  
"Eww!" Tom screamed.  
  
"Whoa," Willow said. "Maybe the teleport wasn't such a good idea." She glanced at Mike and James, now charging full steam after the initial shock of their friend getting puked on. With a wave of her hand they went flying backwards several feet. A few words later, they were pinned on the ground by an invisible force.  
  
Kennedy had sat down on a rock, and just shrugged her shoulders at Dawn and Andrew. "Wow," Andrew said to Willow.  
  
"Yeah, I had a lot stored up for the whole end of the world thing. Guess these guys got screwed."  
  
***  
  
"My official recommendation is that we do not select this camp," Andrew said, finishing his thirty-two minute presentation to Giles.  
  
"Well, then you'll just have to return with Dawn to some other locations I've selected."  
  
"What? No, I can't go. I hated it. I sucked at it."  
  
"Quite the opposite," Giles said. "If you hadn't been there, they would have sacrificed Dawn before Willow arrived. I hear Dawn is quite pleased with you."  
  
"Pleased?"  
  
"Yes. She informed me that you'd be taking her out to lunch today after your presentation, so I suggest you get going."  
  
Andrew smiled. "Cool! I did something right."  
  
"Don't get cocky." 


End file.
